The most surprising aspect of the selection of the late Robert W. Ross to the USTA Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame is that it did not occur years ago. After all, no other individual did more to promote tennis in this community and introduce the sport to generations of young players than the man known by most as simply Professor Ross.
Ross, who died in 1984 at the age of 98, came to Ashland in 1923 to be an administrator and teacher at Booker T. Washington School. In the days before the Williams sisters and even Arthur Ashe, Ross began teaching what was then almost exclusively a “white” sport to the young black kids on the school’s playground. But the influence of Professor Ross in this community soared past racial barriers, and in his own quiet, unassuming ways, Professor Ross helped to make this a better community.
Dr. Jack Ditty, who is himself a member of the USTA Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame, said Ross taught more than just tennis to generations of young players in Ashland.
“He didn‚t allow any bad language,” Ditty said. “You thought so highly of Professor Ross that you would not do anything disrespectful. You were there to play the best tennis you could and be the best gentlemen and ladies. He taught us manners.”
Bennie Shields, who in 2001 donated the funds to have one of the indoor courts at Ashland Tennis Center named for Ross, said Ross “chose a career of service and a retirement of service. He was not loud, or overbearing, or one who insisted on his own way. He went about life quietly, in kindness to all, and in service to the public. He was a gentleman in every since of the word.”
From 1946 to 1976, Ross taught tennis at the Ashland Ares YMCA and oversaw the tennis courts in Central Park. He offered free clinics each summer and was always willing to offer his expert advice to young players. For more than 30 years, the Ashland City Tennis Championship was named in honor of Ross.
Given Ross’s lifetime of achievement, it is no wonder that Ditty called the professor’s selection to the Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame “long overdue.”
Overdue and most deserving. More than a quarter of a century after his death, Professor Robert W. Ross on Jan. 30 will receive an honor that should have come decades ago.
